India's BJP looks set to make big electoral gains in Indian-Kashmir, win in Jharkhand state

Kashmiri polling officials count the votes on an electronic voting machine check inside the counting centre in Srinagar, India, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014. Counting for all the 87 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir state began Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
(The Associated Press)

Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard inside a counting centre in Srinagar, India, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014. Counting for all the 87 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir state began Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
(The Associated Press)

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters dance to celebrate the news of early election result trends outside their party headquarters in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014. India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janta Party is poised to emerge as an important political player in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, as votes in local elections are being counted. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
(The Associated Press)

SRINAGAR, India – India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janta Party is poised to emerge as an important political player in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, as votes in local elections are being counted.

By midday Tuesday, the BJP led in over 24 seats of the region's 87-strong state legislature, a significant jump from the 11 seats it currently holds. The party had led an ambitious campaign aiming for a majority in India's only Muslim-majority state, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting several times.

All the BJP's seats continue to be in the Hindu-dominated areas of the Jammu region in Jammu-Kashmir state. The party failed to make inroads in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley.